


It'll Be Bouquet

by angelofthequeers



Series: Beelicious [2]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Castiel has Anxiety, First Dates, Flowers, Fluff, Kissing, Language of Flowers, M/M, Needy Castiel, Overthinking, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-03
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-22 18:25:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11385837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelofthequeers/pseuds/angelofthequeers
Summary: Cas is finally on a date with Dean!So of course his brain chooses to make him as miserable as possible. Luckily for Cas, Dean's willing to help and determined to make things work.Oh, and he finally gets to kiss the unfairly hot man. That's a nice bonus.





	It'll Be Bouquet

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own SPN.
> 
> I’VE BEEN HIT BY
> 
> I’VE BEEN STRUCK BY
> 
> A DAAAAAMN WRITER’S BUG
> 
> Also, Sam’s plan at the end? Let’s just say that I…drew on personal experience.

 “Cassie, please,” Balthazar Belange sighs. “Do calm yourself.”

“I can’t!” Cas keeps pacing, running a hand through his dark hair and making it even messier. “Balthazar, I have a date!”

“Yes, I was aware after the first five times you told me.”

“You don’t understand!” Cas rounds on Balthazar. “The last time I went on a date was with Inias! And look how that turned out! And before him was Meg, and she –”

“– only wanted friends with benefits.” Balthazar grabs Cas by the biceps and gently shakes him. “Castiel, calm down. I’ve had to endure your pathetic pining for two weeks now. If you back out now, you’ll never know what you’re missing out on. And if he turns out to be like Inias or Meg, I’ll castrate him for you. In fact, if he’s even half as bad as that Arthur fellow, I’ll ensure that the police never find his rotting corpse.”

Cas shudders.

“Can you _not_ bring up Arthur?” he says. Balthazar waves a hand.

“I’m sorry, Cassie. But my point still stands.”

Finally, Cas allows a small smile to slip across his face.

“Thanks, Balthazar. You’ve always had my back.”

“Yes, well, what are friends for?” Balthazar pats Cas on the shoulder and lets him go. “I do warn you, though: if he’s half as attractive as you claim he is and you decide not to tap that ass, I’ll be moving in rather quickly.”

Cas snorts. Typical Balthazar.

“Now, onto more important matters.” Balthazar tugs Cas’ closet open and starts rummaging inside. “Finding you a half-decent outfit to wear on your date.”

After a few minutes, he emerges with probably half of Cas’ clothes. A short while later, he’s finally narrowed the pile down to a pale blue button-down and a pair of black slacks, which he tosses to Cas. He then shoves the rest of Cas’ clothes back into the closet. Cas winces; folding and tidying all of that won’t be quick.

“Well? Do get changed,” Balthazar says. “After all, I _am_ chauffeuring you, and I don’t have all night. I have a date with a rather bendy young lady tonight and I’m eager to see what she can do.”

Snorting, Cas disappears into the bathroom to change, then quickly brushes his hair and debates for a minute or so about slicking it back to make it behave. When Balthazar calls out for him, he just shrugs and leaves it as it is as he rushes out, making sure to grab everything he needs for the night. He’ll probably mess it all up in his anxiety anyway.

* * *

 

“Is that him?” Balthazar asks. Cas follows Balthazar’s pointing and his stomach swoops pleasantly when he sees Dean lingering outside the front of the restaurant, occasionally scanning around like he’s looking for something.

Or someone.

“I can’t do this,” Cas says suddenly. “It’ll go horribly. I’ll talk his ear off and he’ll hate me and never want to see me again and –”

Rolling his eyes, Balthazar shakes Cas by the shoulders.

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you to calm down, Cassie,” he says. “If you mess up, you mess up. That’s the excitement of it!”

“Speak for yourself,” Cas mumbles.

“And who knows? Maybe this Dean will be the one to turn you off. But if you don’t go, all you’ll do is continue to overthink this whole situation. Then you’ll torture yourself with ‘what ifs’ and you’ll make Dean very upset and he may not want to –”

“Alright, alright!” Cas shrugs out of Balthazar’s grip. “ _Thank_ you, Balthazar!”

“Good luck, Cassie!” Balthazar calls after him as Cas gets out of the car. His shout attracts the attention of Dean, whose face lights up when he catches sight of Cas.

“Cas!” he exclaims. Cas gulps. Then Balthazar’s car pulls away and he realises: he can’t back out now.

“Um…hi, Dean,” he stammers. Away from the comfort of Beelicious, what little confidence he had talking to Dean has evaporated, and now it’s taking all he’s got to not take off running.

When he drifts back out of his own head, he realises that Dean’s staring at him. His face immediately starts to fill with heat.

“I – is something the matter?” he says. It’s getting a little hard to breathe through the pressure in his chest and he clenches his fists, trying to stave off the early signs of an attack. That would just be perfect, wouldn’t it? Anxiety attack on the first date.

“Sorry!” Dean shakes his head. “Just…you’re kinda hot, Cas. Guess I got distracted.”

He winks. Cas’ face grows hotter, though for an entirely different reason this time.

“Thanks,” he forces out, his cheeks flaming. Okay, this is the perfect moment to bring out what he’s got for Dean –

“You wanna go inside?” Dean gestures at the restaurant and Cas’ resolve promptly plummets.

“Sure!” he says quickly. A little too quickly, judging by the frown on Dean’s face.

“Hey, are you okay?” Dean says. “It’s okay if you don’t want –”

“No!” Cas blurts out. “I do – just – not the best with –” He winces and rakes a hand through his hair. “I’m sorry. I’m completely hopeless.”

To his surprise, Dean laughs. Cas can’t help but squint. Is he being made fun of? Dean doesn’t seem like the sort – but, as he reminds himself, he doesn’t even know the man. He’s only had two conversations with Dean and for all he knows, the guy is a grade-A douche.

“Sorry.” Dean holds up his hands in surrender. “Sorry. Not laughing at you, Cas. ‘S just reassuring to see that I wasn’t the only one freaking out about this.”

Cas blinks owlishly. Dean’s been nervous about this date as well? It never once occurred to him that Dean might be just as jittery as him, because why would anyone be nervous about messing up with _him_?

“C’mon. I know the owners, so we’ll get a table easy, but I don’t think you wanna stand out here for the next half hour,” Dean says. He reaches out his hand, as if asking for permission, and when Cas nods and extends his own, Dean surprises him by wrapping an arm around his waist and guiding him into the restaurant.

“I – it’s nice,” Cas says, stumbling over his words. The inside of the restaurant is nice and rustic and cosy, yeah, but he’s rather preoccupied with the hand resting on his hip. It’s practically radiating heat through his clothing and it’s all he can focus on right now, and a small part of him can’t help but wish it would move just a tad lower even though he’s totally not ready for that kind of stuff when they haven’t even finished their first date. And that’s assuming that Dean even wants future dates.

“My aunt owns the place,” Dean says, leading Cas to a small booth in a corner. “Saved my ass when I was younger by giving me shifts. Well, she’s not really my aunt, but she might as well be.”

“She sounds lovely.” That’s what Cas is supposed to say, right? It seems to be, because Dean beams at him.

“Oh, Ellen’s the best. And her daughter Jo’s pretty much my baby sister. You got any siblings?”

Cas briefly mourns the loss of Dean’s hand around his waist as they sit down. Then again, he’s a needy little shit, so maybe this is a good thing. The last thing he needs is to become overly clingy.

“I have an older sister called Anna,” he says. “And three younger siblings: Jonah, Mirabel, and Alfie. I also have _lots_ of cousins and most of them are also older than me.”

“I got a younger brother.” A fond smile spreads across Dean’s face. “Sammy’s everything to me. He’s gonna be a big-shot lawyer, you know? Just got accepted to law school outta Stanford.”

It’s clear to even the blindest person that Dean thinks the world and more of his brother. Cas can’t help but smile too, faint hints of envy stirring in his stomach. If only he was as close to his siblings as Dean is to Sam.

“That’s fantastic,” he says warmly. “He sounds amazing.”

This is clearly the right thing to say, as it earns him a brilliant smile from Dean that leaves him weak at the knees, even though he’s sitting down.

“Oh, we should probably order,” Dean says suddenly, ducking his head and picking up his menu. Cas follows suit. _‘The Roadhouse’_ is splashed across the top of the menu and Cas briefly skims through the choices, trying to pick something to eat as quickly as possible. The last thing he needs is to be one of those indecisive people who take ten hours to pick something to order…but he can’t choose something _too_ fast, or he’ll look like a douchey show-off.

“Already know what I’m havin’,” Dean says. “The bacon cheeseburgers are to _die_ for. Literally. Sam’s always nagging me about getting a heart attack at forty. I’m not even twenty five yet!”

His nerve-wracked laugh is interesting. Does Dean naturally talk this much, or is he just overly nervous like Cas is?

“I’ll have a burger with the lot,” Cas says after a moment. Dean beams at him.

“Man after my own heart,” he says fondly. Cas’ chest practically explodes.

“I – they make me very happy,” he says, flustered. Dean laughs and slides out of his seat.

“I’m gonna go order. You want anything to drink? This place serves alcohol as well.”

“Oh…I don’t drink. I’ll just have a Coke, if that’s okay?”

“Course it is, Cas. Be back in a sec.”

Once he’s gone, Cas slumps in his seat. Okay, so this is going well so far. He hasn’t messed up or said anything to turn Dean off, though that’s probably because he hasn’t been given the chance to go off on a tangent about his interests. His hand drops to the waistband of his slacks, where he’s stuffed a little something for Dean due to not having pockets that won’t squash it, and his heart rate starts to pick up again. Is it too soon to give Dean presents? Should he wait until after the date? Or until the second one, even? And that’s assuming that Dean does want to go out with him again.

“Here.” A glass of Coke appears on the table in front of Cas, making him jump. His head flies up to see Dean once again seated across from him – only this time, he looks completely nervous, like he’s going to confess something. Cas tenses. Has something happened and Dean’s no longer interested? “And I…uh, I got you something.”

From underneath the table, he produces a small bunch of gardenias. Cas’ breath hitches in his throat.

“I got Jo to hold on to ‘em earlier,” Dean says quickly. “And I got them from just outta town – obviously not Beelicious, ‘cause otherwise you’d have caught on – but I know you’ll get what they mean and I just –” He buries his face in the table. “Fuck, I’m horrible at this.”

Cas runs shaky fingers over the white petals.

“‘You’re lovely’,” he says hoarsely. “‘Secret love. Purity’.”

“Yeah.” Dean doesn’t look up. “God, if Sammy knew about this, he’d have a field day.”

“I – I got you something too,” Cas blurts out. Before he can overthink things, he pulls the flower out of his waistband and drops it on the table. “I didn’t get you a bunch but I couldn’t figure out how to hide more than one and I was scared I was being a bit forward but –”

“What’s it mean?” Dean interrupts his babbling, carefully picking up the red and white variegated tulip. Cas swallows nervously.

“‘Beautiful eyes’,” he says quietly, eyes dropping to the table. When he dares to look up, his stomach swoops at how Dean’s face has gone dark pink all over.

“I – um – thanks,” the man says. “I love it.”

“If you don’t like it, you really don’t have to –”

“I love it,” Dean repeats firmly, putting the tulip down on the table next to him. Cas follows suit with the gardenias. “Just caught me by surprise. No one’s ever said they love my eyes before.”

“Well, they’re beautiful,” Cas says. His burst of confidence then fails him and he groans and hides his face in his hands. “Oh my god. I can’t believe I said that.”

“What’s wrong, Cas? You were fine the last two times we talked.”

“We were in my store.” Cas’ voice is muffled by his hands. “I wasn’t on a date with one of the most gorgeous men I’ve ever seen. I’m way out of my comfort zone.”

“Do I really make you that nervous?” Dean’s voice is cautious, like he doesn’t want to accidentally make Cas’ condition worse, and this leaves a small pit in Cas’ stomach.

“No!” He shakes his head wildly. “I’m sorry, Dean. I just – I get anxious and I’ve got three exes and I’m terrified I’ll mess up but I don’t want to because you seem amazing and I’m so sorry, I’m just making an idiot of myself and you shouldn’t have to –”

“Hey.” Dean’s quiet voice shocks Cas into silence. “‘S cool, Cas. You don’t have to apologise or anything.”

Cas finally looks up, and is utterly stunned to see a soft smile on Dean’s face.

“Sammy’s got anxiety too,” Dean continues. “Not as bad now – I mean, it’s still there, but he can usually pull himself out – but man, he was a wreck of a teen. So I learned how to help him cope. Can I touch you?”

Cas nods unthinkingly. The nerves in his hand light up when Dean links their fingers together and when he flushes and looks down, Dean gently pushes his face back up with his other hand.

“If it helps any, I think you’re adorable,” he says. “I don’t give a fuck how much of an idiot you think you are, ‘cause it’s not like I don’t have my own issues. I…I actually wanna get to know you a bit better.”

A brilliant smile spreads across Cas’ face before he can help himself.

“Yeah,” he says a little breathlessly, then winces at the sound of his voice. He clears his throat. “I’d like that. A lot.”

* * *

 

Once the date’s over, Dean leads Cas outside to his car to drop him home.

“Wow,” Cas breathes, running a hand over the glossy black paint. “Your car’s amazing, Dean.”

Dean smiles widely. Cas mentally applauds himself for once again saying the right thing.

“Damn right she is,” he says smugly. “She’s been my pride and joy ever since my dad left her to me. Ain’t that right, Baby?”

Cas spends the ride back to his apartment surreptitiously watching Dean out of the corner of his eye while pretending that he isn’t, along with pretending to himself that Dean’s eyes also flick to him when he looks away from Dean. It’s a fun little game, trying to catch the other staring, and Cas is actually disappointed when Dean pulls up outside his apartment building.

Though when Dean walks him to the building door, his heart flutters in his chest. No one’s ever walked him to the door after a first date before; in fact, Arthur had refused to accompany Cas back until it was guaranteed that something was going to happen.

Cas’ heart promptly sinks. Is that why Dean’s doing this? Is he expecting Cas to put out? Yeah, he’s super attractive, and Cas is already enchanted by him, but he’s really not ready yet. Not for at least a couple more dates. But if he denies Dean, will the man want to see him again?

“Thanks, Cas,” Dean says, taking his hand. “That was a great night.”

Cas forces himself to swallow.

“Yeah,” he says, his voice rasping a little. “Me too.”

Dean frowns at him.

“You okay, Cas? What’s on your mind?”

He reaches out and brushes strands of hair out of Cas’ eyes. Cas shivers and his body actually leans into the touch.

“I’m overthinking things again, aren’t I?” he mumbles, looking down. “Only time I’ve ever been walked to the door is when…”

He trails off but Dean gets it in just a few seconds.

“Hey. Hey. Whoa. Too fast, Cas.” He grins sheepishly. “I’m not ready for that either.”

Cas physically sags with relief.

“Oh, thank god,” he says. “I’m sorry, Dean. I didn’t mean to assume.”

Dean rolls his eyes, though he’s still smiling.

“What’d I say? Don’t apologise, Cas. Just tell me if you’re ever overthinking anything so I can reassure ya. Trust me, I know how weird your mind can get.”

“Sam?” Cas says. Dean shrugs.

“Dude made a mistake one time and was so convinced I’d be mad that he came up with a whole plan to run away and live with friends in Flagstaff. So trust me when I say that I get how shit it can be when your mind works against you.”

Cas grins shakily and takes Dean’s hand, squeezing.

“I can’t wait to do this again,” he confesses. “I just – there’s something about you, Dean. I’ve got a good feeling.”

Dean’s face lights up. Before Cas can say anything, Dean’s moving closer and his heart threatens to burst out of his chest. Oh, wow – Dean is way more attractive this close – he really hopes Dean’s planning on kissing him, because those lips just look –

“Can I kiss you, Cas?” Dean asks. Cas laughs before he can stop himself.

“ _Yes_ ,” he says. The next moment, his mind goes blank as Dean’s lips meet his in a gentle, chaste kiss, and Cas involuntarily gasps into the kiss as their mouths work in harmony.

Dear.

Sweet.

God.


End file.
